I must say... a working plot/mystery from chapter 23 of a Amano story? I like it. I wonder, since the arc is called On The Other Side of Time will they have something of a time travel arc in the future.
Crazy cool high concept sci-fi fantasy that also exists in the same setting as a slice of life about gondoliers on Mars. Where I was strung along by that connection at the beginning I'm now hooked on this strange deviation to see how it unfolds.